An AstraZeneca vaccine production line.
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The European Union has suggested that drug maker AstraZeneca divert the supply of its coronavirus vaccine from the UK to mainland Europe as the battle for production and supply delays continues.
It comes after AstraZeneca told the EU last week that it would initially deliver far fewer doses of its Covid vaccine to the 27-member block than originally thought.
The EU on Wednesday demanded that the pharmaceutical giant comply with its agreement to supply it with coronavirus vaccines, by whatever means necessary.
Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said talks with the company, which continued on Wednesday, were “constructive”. But he also tweeted that “contractual obligations must be met, vaccines must be delivered to EU citizens.”
He said in a statement that the EU had rejected the “logic of the first to arrive first”, after AstraZeneca’s CEO accused the delays in supplying teething problems to its European factories and said they had solved similar problems in the UK because it had ordered its vaccine dose three months before the EU.
At a press conference, Kyriakides said there was “no hierarchy” in the production plants mentioned in its advance purchase agreement with AstraZeneca and that it was not stipulated which ones the EU would supply or not.
“There are four factories listed in the contract, but it makes no difference between the UK and Europe. UK factories are part of our advance purchase agreement and that is why they have to deliver,” he said. There was no clause in the contract stating that the drug manufacturer would give priority to the UK, he added.
Battle preparation
It marks the latest development of the public argument between the EU and AstraZeneca, as the latter faces problems from two of its European plants.
The CEO of the British-Swedish company, Pascal Soriot, provoked tensions on Tuesday when he said in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that his agreement with the EU was a “better effort” and not a “contractual commitment”.
The EU responded and required the pharmacist to submit detailed plans on its delivery schedule. An official explicitly asked AstraZeneca to divert doses made in the UK to the EU, although the company did not respond to the problem, according to a Reuters report.
In Tuesday’s interview, Soriot said: “The UK government said the supply that would come out of the UK supply chain would go first to the UK. Basically, that’s right. In the EU agreement. it is mentioned that UK factories were an option for Europe, but only later. “
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson did not comment directly on the matter on Wednesday, but said: “We are very confident in our supplies, we are very confident in our contracts and we will move forward on that basis.”
Vaccination impulses
The EU is fighting for its vaccination to be launched as it has no supplies. It was first hit by vaccine maker Pfizer-BioNTech, which announced it had to temporarily reduce production to improve its manufacturing capacity in Belgium. It was then followed by AstraZeneca last Friday reducing its delivery forecasts in the region.
A senior unnamed EU official told Reuters that the block was expecting about 80 million doses by March, but had been told it would only receive 31 million doses. The company has not confirmed the amounts involved.
The European Medicines Agency is expected to approve the AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday.
The UK ordered 100 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine last May, making it the first country to do so. It depends largely on the vaccine for its vaccination boost, which has been ahead of those in continental Europe, which began in early December. The EU began its implementation on 27 December; originally ordered 300 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in August.
To date, the UK has vaccinated more than 7.1 million people with a first dose of vaccine and almost half a million have received their second dose, meaning it has carried out more vaccines than those combined between Germany, France, Italy and Spain, according to Our World In Data figures.